This invention relates generally to the field of devices used to control and monitor the travel speed of vehicles on a thoroughfare, and more particularly to such devices used by law enforcement and traffic control, such as warning signs, radar guns and other speed detecting devices, speed indicator signs, etc.
Monitoring vehicle speeds on the roadways and influencing drivers to maintain safe speeds and speeds within set speed limits is a necessary activity for law enforcement personnel, as it is well known that a significant number of drivers will exceed posted speed limits, thereby posing a risk to themselves, their passengers, other vehicle occupants and pedestrians. Law enforcement personnel use many tools to accomplish this goal, ranging from passive means such as simple billboard messages at one end of the spectrum to active means such as speed traps using hidden radar guns, airplane surveillance and other detection devices on the other. Law enforcement officials also utilize techniques in the mid-range, such as the use of speed monitoring and display devices temporarily placed along roadways, where the speed of each approaching vehicle is displayed in large numbers to the oncoming driver. Another technique is to park an empty law enforcement vehicle alongside the roadway, sometimes with a dummy stationed in the driver's seat. This latter technique is very effective in causing drivers to reduce their speed, since approaching drivers cannot determine whether or not the parked vehicle is manned with an officer operating a radar gun. However, the use of a parked law enforcement vehicle represents an expensive approach to the problem, since the parked vehicle is removed from active use.
It is an object of the invention to provide a device that combines benefits from many of the speed monitoring devices and techniques discussed above, while at the same time obviating many of the problems associated with certain methods and devices. It is an object to provide a device that can be utilized in various active or passive formats, such that the device can serve as a mere warning device, can serve as an interactive warning device that detects the speed of approaching vehicles and displays the speed or produces visible alerts, or can serve as a controlling device that detects the speed of approaching vehicles and alerts officers to stop vehicles that are in violation of the speed limit. It is an object to provide such a device that produces the desired response obtained from drivers sighting a parked police vehicle without incurring the costs resulting from the use of idle police vehicles. It is an object to provide such a device that is relatively inexpensive to produce and is easily transportable to various locations.